Onaway city officials received an update Monday on an upcoming study to determine housing needs for Moran Iron Works employees and others within the community.
At the regular Onaway City Commission meeting, Onaway City Manager Joe Hefele said the Michigan State Housing Development Authority is in the process of hiring a consultant to perform a housing target market analysis for Onaway.
Hefele said he has been told that some housing grant dollars could flow into Onaway while the study is being completed. The grant funding could fall into multiple programs, including homeowner rehab, homebuyer acquisition/rehab and rental rehab.
“While I am working with Moran Iron Works, which has indicated that it has an immediate need for housing for new employees, non-Moran employees also can qualify for these dollars,” Hefele noted.
He said that anyone interested in any of these programs should visit Hefele's office in the Onaway City Hall so he can get their name and contact information for a list that will be provided to the Northeast Michigan Affordable Housing agency.
“These dollars are good for homeowners, renters and landlords, and good for the town,” Hefele said.
The Iron One Foundation submitted an application for a $15,000 grant from the Michigan State Housing Development Authority to complete the target market analysis of the housing within the City of Onaway.
The analysis will provide a detailed breakdown of Onaway's existing housing stock and will list the housing necessary to meet the staffing needs of Moran Iron Works. Hefele has said the housing needs could include some combination of rental and homeowner units.
Once the analysis is complete, the Iron One Foundation, in conjunction with the City of Onaway and the Northeast Michigan Affordable Housing agency, can seek Michigan State Housing Development Authority funds to construct the housing specified as necessary.
“Some of the locations discussed for housing include property owned by the City near Chandler Park, the parcels where tax foreclosures are to be demolished, and the large piece near the post office acquired by Moran Iron Works,” Hefele has said.
Presque Isle County Economic Development Corporation Executive Director Joe Libby has said Moran Iron Works' rapid growth and expansion has been bringing many new employees to the area.
“Anything that was rentable in the area has basically been rented up,” Libby explained. “We have had a lot of years when we had a decrease in the population instead of growth, and many of the vacant properties became unsalvageable during that time. Onaway has shrunk in every census for the last ten censuses. Now we have Moran rapidly adding employees, and we are looking at ways to accommodate that growth.”